Scott Boras did it again. Just when it looked like the market for Prince Fielder had slowed late in the offseason, Boras got his prized client the fourth richest contract in baseball history. The Tigers agreed to sign the slugger to a nine-year contract worth $214MM today, giving them the most devastating 3-4 lineup tandem in the game. Here's a recap of what's been said about the deal…
- "In some sense, I'm glad he got a good contract that he's satisfied with. We knew early on that we probably weren't going to be in it. I think Prince probably knew that, too," said Brewers GM Doug Melvin to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Melvin confirmed they hadn't had serious extension talks with Fielder since Spring Training of 2010, and he credited the slugger with helping the team get back to being contenders.
- Rival executives told Joel Sherman of The New York Post that they think the signing came from ownership, not GM Dave Dombrowski (Twitter link). He says deals for other Boras clients — Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, and Magglio Ordonez — happened the same way. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports heard that owner Mike Illitch influenced the signing "100%" (Twitter link).
- The Nationals and a mystery team were strongly in on Fielder, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The Mariners, meanwhile, told teams they didn't have money to spend on a hitter of Prince's caliber, which is why they traded for Jesus Montero according to Sherman.
- Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News says (on Twitter) that the Giants were never really in on Fielder.
- ESPN's Keith Law, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs, and SI.com's Cliff Corcoran agree that Fielder will improve the Tigers in the short-term, but the last few years of the contract could be messy.
Am I wrong in thinking this came about mostly because of Victor Martinez’s injury? It’s hard to imagine another team taking on that kind of contract, despite their needs. Even the Nationals seemed to be waiting for the price tag to come down.
Waiting to see how both the big 1B contracts turn out towards the end will be quite intriguing. Unless you’re a Tigers or Angels fan, of course.
This signing has illitch all over it.
He wants a WS so bad, he has almost no regard for money. He understands he has a 3 year window in which he has the best hitter and pitcher in the game today and is willing to give whatever it takes to give them a more than stellar supporting cast. I love this move by illitch. It puts them all in; and his timing isnt that bad. If the tigers are looking at a three year window, then imagine the devastation when their 3-4-5 hitters are mig, prince, and vmart.
The only players that will be rotating in the next 3 years are some supporting utility guys and some bullpen arms. The staff and core are locked in. This was a good signing; an overpay, sure. But if the guy who spends the money doesn’t care, then neither do I.
By best hitter you better mean Cabrera.
Correct.
And prince would be ‘supporting cast’. And if prince isnt the best hitter in a lineup, and it’s my team, I’m a happy camper. A very happy camper.
Absolutely. Cabrera’s hitting ability is profound. I’d probably pick about 15 hitters over Fielder for now and the future. However as your second best hitter… Watch out.
Could argue third best when vmart returns…
No … you really can’t.
Lifetimes:
.303/.370/.469/.840 to .282/.390/.540/.929
Youre right. BBBBUUUUUUTTTTT, any lineup where vmart is your THIRD best hitter….
Agreed – that’s just absurd. The Tigers have long been my favorite AL team, and it killed me to see them lose to the Cardinals in ’06. I really hope the Prince signing works out for them long-term.
Nope. Fielder>>>>Vmart
============================================
And if prince isnt the best hitter in a lineup, and it’s my team, I’m a happy camper. A very happy camper.
============================================
I’ve devoured every article and video since this was announced and that statement summed up the entire day. I think you’re right. We’ll have a fun ride for 3 years and then…who knows? Right now I don’t care. Go Tigers!
It should be a good 3 years, but after that I really feel Kansas City will need to be reckoned with. They are building an organization that has all the makings of an Atlanta like sustained run. But…so many things happen…a good day to be a Tigers fan.
No arguements here. KC will soon be scary good. Which is why I’m stoked they are going all in now.
I feel like it is going to be almost obligatory of DD to trade turner of he doesn’t have an immediate contribution after spring training.
Ha, I don’t forget about KC. They have a hell of a good young team and I think they will make a run at the central this year but they just won’t have a rotation to keep up. Let’s not forget the rotation the Tigers have. This pitching staff(the minor league young guys too) with this lineup for the next few years will be great.
Another Dream Team.
Holy crap, he traded for Jose Bautista and Roy Halladay?!
Verlander is better than Halladay and Cabrera is better than Bautista, in my opinion.
Cabrera yes.
Verlander, not yet atleast. the potentials there.. but Verlander needs to have another 5 or 6 good seasons before we can say he’s better that Doc
He’s better than doc right now. Verly is on the up and doc is going down the other side of the hill. No disrespect to Halladay, but verlander isn’t 35 and on the back end of his career.
but Doc has a better year than Verlander last year, so how does that work?
and ofcourse going forward you take the younger JV..thats obvious.
but if the argument is then best young pitcher in baseball, do we not look to kershaw then?
No, Verlander clearly had a better year last year. He outperformed Halladay in almost every category. All except walks and homeruns, basically.
What are you smoking? You can’t just throw out nicknames and expect us to gobble up your bs. Can you say MVP? Halladay didn’t win the NL MVP, did he?
No he didn’t. But Jeter won the Gold Glove. My point being, of course, that awards are mostly meaningless.
Jeter is a very good fielder, terrible example.
He certainly *was* a very good fielder, but according to UZR, his defense has dropped off a cliff in the past couple of years, including 2010, when he posted a -5.4 UZR and still won a Gold Glove.
Well if you want to bring range into play, I will admit Jeter is below average in that regard. Jeter fields the balls he get to very well and rarely cost the Yankees games with his defense. I just go by what I see on the field.
yet roy halladay had a much better year than verlander last year..
thanks for coming out.. if you want to big boy talk, try to keep up son
Look, I’m a Tigers fan too but if you think Halladay is spiraling downward I don’t know what you’re looking at. Sure he’s getting *older*, but he has been getting better since 2007. The man’s unbelievable.
Last time I checked, Halladay hadn’t won an MVP AND a Cy Young in the same year. Hall of Famer for sure. Best in the NL, definitely. Best in the game? Arguable.
And Cabrera might not be the best hitter in the game – but he’s definitely better than Bautista.
Omg halladay didn’t win an MVP an CY Young in the same year what a bum!!!
seriously, who cares about awards. I bet you JV barely cares either, only one thing matters, the last game of the world series.
jv 2011= 17-1 v. al central & N.L. Halladay career vs. AL east 66-37 19 cgs. do it against the al east and we’ll talk. halladay career vs tigers 12-2 2.19 era 6 cg 4 shutouts!! jv got the mvp b/c of injuries to bautista on may 7th- ( .357ba .530 obp and 1.292 ops at the time (bye-bye no hitter)) and injuries in the second half 12 hr after asg 31 before!!
Miguel Cabrera > Jose Bautista
.344/ 30 HR/ 105 RBI .302/ 43 HR/ 103 RBI
Justin Verlander > Roy Halladay
24-5/ 2.40/ 251 IP 19-6/ 2.35/ 233 IP
Cabrera is obviously a magnificent hitter, but Bautista has been the better offensive player the past 2 seasons, with Miggy coming in #2. And also, I would take Halladay over Verlander
(nevermind)
Miguel Cabrera 2011 WAR 7.3 < Jose Batista WAR 8.3
Thanks for playing.
That takes defense and speed into account. This is the best hitter debate.
Thanks for playing.
hahahaha… bautista is no where near the threat cabrera is. quote as many meaningless stats as you want, 100% of the owners in the league would take cabrera over bautista. you cant just look at one number and sum it up and say oh hes better. put bautista on any other team and any other field and hes just a normal everyday power hitter, nothing special. the reason he walks so much (which artificially inflates his % stats) is because no one else on the team can hit. who cares if he can hit a home run, cabrera is a real hitter.
holladay is definitely at the top of the heap but jv has earned his spot up there too, in shorter time. hes 27 you cant tell me you would take holladay at this point in his career over jv.
So Fielder plays first, and Cabrera DHs and V-Mart plays??? There is no way Cabrera goes back to third, and no way V-mart catches for any significant period of time. V-Mart is a trade candidate not an everyday player
Well see. I’ll take aramis aramis type defense from Cabrera at third in trade to have those three bats in the lineup. I’d do that gladly.
Ehh… I don’t know about best pitcher.
Of course Giants aren’t interested, his fastball sucks!!!
..and Lincecum’s isn’t as good as Verlander’s! =P
Actually it was just as good when he came up. He was throwing 101 all the time and that was a two seemer. Righetti told him, like Cain, to back off their fastballs for control. Both can reach back to 97, but choose not to. I wouldn’t argue that Verlander had better year than Lincecum, but Tim could throw 100 if he wanted to.
Illitch has said he’d trade all his Stanley Cups for a WS title and he’s hoping he just bought the last piece to one.
Never heard that before.
I’ve heard it before. A quote from years back.
source?
i doubt he would say that publicly
“He told me once that he would gladly sacrifice some — but not all —
of his Stanley Cups for one ticker-tape parade celebrating a Tigers
championship.”
MLBTR won’t let me share the link, but go to freep dot com and click on the Drew Sharp story with the headline: ”
Prince Fielder makes a lot of sense for Tigers in 2012, but not beyond”
well thats a lot different than what you just said isn’t it??
you were misleading
He is the King of Hockeytown. He would never say that and I’ve never heard it.
He’s said he would trade a few, but not all
People need to remember there isn’t a slugger nearly as good as Fielder hitting the market next year. The year after, Youkilis and Wright are already on big-market teams and have serious injury risks and age concerns. Votto is going to have many suitors. The Dodgers and Mets will most likely go after him with deeper pockets. The timing of the VMart injury just gave the Tigers the reason necessary to jump on it and go after a perennial All-star.
Josh Hamilton just gave you the bird
And in the process hurt himself… I really like him and his story, but he is as fragile glass.
Very valid point. As Matt mentioned below me, he is extremely injury prone. Additionally, after missing out on Prince Fielder, I find it highly unlikely Texas doesn’t resign him. But I have been wrong before. However, you are right, he is an elite hitter who would have fit the Tigers’ needs in LF in 2013 (hoping we don’t resign Delmon and overpay).
Hamilton won’t hit the FA market now.
Nationals fans reaction: Thank god we didn’t pull another Werth..
Nationals fans reaction five minutes after yours: We’ll trade you Werth + $122mm for Prince Fielder.
Just saying…
Sorry again.
Uncontrolled spending like this is ruining baseball. The other teams in their division can’t compete with billionaires like Illitch who just throw their checkbooks around. I’m hoping Bud Selig can void this deal and force Fielder to re-sign with the Brewers, where he belongs. For the best interests of the game.
Do you not realize that pretty much every owner is a billionaire? Don’t blame Illitch for actually wanting to WIN A TITLE, and investing a ton of his personal wealth into his product. Blame your own owner, not MLB.
Every owner is a millionaire but only a few are billionaires.
there are plenty of things that bud should do in the best interest of the game and this isn’t one of them
Yes, we all know how the game is in ruins. Those poor owners.
As a Brewer fan, for that kind of cash the Tigers can keep him! He isn’t worth that contract. I personally think he is worth maybe 5yrs 19 million per year. The Tiger may have made themselves better for a couple of years, but their defense just took a major blow if Fielder is at 1B and Miggy at 3B. I don’t see Fielder putting up nearly the numbers he has if he is moved to DH. History tells us that! 24 million for a DH is staight up crippling! Adding I still don’t see the Tigers coming out of the AL to the world series. Rangers, Angels, Red Sox, and prolly even the Yankees are more poised to come out of the AL. I will miss seeing him mash balls in Miller Park, but not at that price! What does that signing say for the future of Miggy? Miggy is way more valuable than Fielder! I can’t see the Tigers paying Miggy after this signing.
This shouldn’t impact Miggy. There is no way they would be that shortsighted to push Cabrera out the door when his deals up…at least I hope.
Are you myopic or what. Fielder will play 1b and Miggy will play 3b with Young as the DH.
Well let’s see what the future holds when the Tigers infield produces more errors than anyone in MLB having Fielder at 1B and Miggy at 3B! Then after that happens VMart returns from his injury. Then what happens?
Maybe they trade VMart and put Cabrera at DH.
You were one of those who emailed David Stern asking him to void the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers weren’t you? Don’t lie now…
Even with this signing, the Tigers payroll is still below quite a few teams. They had $23 million coming off of the books so I bet their payroll is still under $125 million. Now, go trade Turner for Garza and World Series here we come. I dont think even JL can mess this up, unless he trys to sit Fielder and play Raburn at first lol
“I’m hoping Bud Selig can void this deal”
Go watch Basketball.
This is the funniest thing I’ve seen on this site in a while.
You /are/ joking, right?
This contract isn’t ruining baseball. Bud Selig is (trying to).
Last season the Tigers won their first divisional title since Michael Ilitch bought the team in 1992. Detroit has made only two postseason appearances over that span and finished as high as second in its division only four times.
Other teams have competed.
Like I said before, “Ilitch has guts” and for that I respect him. It may hurt them in the long run, but like a great economist once said “We all die in the long run”, “we’re all dead” same thing
Debbie Downer over here
If it helps them for the next 6 years and then hurts them for the last 3 is it really hurting them in the long run?
that economist lost his personal fortune in the market crash of ’29. nothin’ great about him
Nothing great about him? Lol
yuni betancourt of economics
You obviously don’t know anything about Economic Theory, just stop.
repost
The thing is that Ilitch is over 80 years old. He wants a title while he can still enjoy it, and he might be dead by the time Fielder becomes vastly overpaid.
The tigers payroll still will be under 130 mil after collecting money on VMarts insurance, barring they doesn’t sign anyone else. 130 isn’t that outrageous.
In order for them to collect, does he have to be ruled out for the entire year/post-season?
I believe it is depending upon the percentage of games as to what the insurance pays out.
If Vmart doesn’t play a game this year my math had tigers opening day payroll at 119.2 million, if all my information was accurate and granted the don’t add any more payroll; which they could still do with relative ease. I’m not sure where people are getting off on what the tigers are spending. Their payroll is very reasonable when you look at the names on the roster.
I dont know about this.. I mean, I like that the Tigers are being aggresive and trying to improve an already strong club.. but I feel like so much of this stemmed from vmarts injury..
I mean wouldnt the tigers have been better off overpaying for a Jose Reyes, Beltran, Ramirez, or Wilson?
they’d have been better off paying for all four of them
Take away the Reyes injury bug that bites him year after year, and I would have MUCH rather had Reyes than Fielder.
for the simple fact that he’s much cheaper and you don’t have to ask your best player to move positions
Cabrera actually wants to play 3rd, and thinks he’s capable though. And from a fan perspective, I’m psyched out of my mind to see Miggy and Fielder together.
I hadn’t heard that about miggy.. Yah I don’t want to rain on anyones parade, I think its going to be awesome to watch the Tigers for years to come. congrats.
I will definetely coming down to Detroit to check out some games this year
A Venezuelan writer (I think) had quotes from Cabrera saying he was excited about Fielder coming to the team, and he would go back to third, which was his old position.
Close your eyes for just a second and pretend this was a old fashioned Steinbrenner signing. Just imagine the our rage and the cries of the small market teams…
This is EXACTLY the same thing, yet where is the rampant outrage? It’s funny how when the Yankees do anything they’re buying a championship and ruining the sport…
Detroits payroll last year was 105 mill and Yankees was 200+
how is this the EXACT same thing..?
Oh that’s right, who still has the highest payroll?
you guys have it pretty rough
This is the biggest signing the Tigers have ever made. It’s not a yearly event for us to get one of the top 2 free agents.
Let us enjoy it.
Because this is the smaller market team giving out the large contract.
When are you going to learn to block out what other people think. Of course we’re going to take criticism because we have been the team with the largest payroll for quite some time. What would rather be, A fan of a good franchise that does not take lots of criticism or a fan of the best franchise which will be scrutinized?
Couldn’t have said it better. Besides the typos of course 😉
Have you been talking to Rex Ryan?
If the Tigers did this sort of thing every year or so, maybe you’d have a point.
If the Tigers win a World Series in the next two years, none of this chatter will mean the slightest. Tiger fans are salivating over the prospect of a starting staff in 2013 that will (hopefully) include Jacob Turner, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Rick Porcello. If Cabrera can manage to not embarrass himself too much over at 3b, this might not be too awful. People are comparing these Tigers to the 90’s BoSox. I don’t think Boston had quite as good a pitching staff then, as Detroit does now. Team owner Mike Illitch has worked so hard to get this team where it is. He’s pretty old, and he’s a for real Tiger fan. He even played a little minor league baseball in the Tigers minor league system back when Honus Wagner was an All-Star (ok not really but close). He’s going all in. I respect him for it. As a life-long Tiger fan myself, all I want is for my beloved Tigs to win a World Series sometime in the near future. I want to see Verlander hoisting that trophy over his head, in an Old English D, not a Sox (either kind) or (gag) Yankee uniform! ’nuff said.
+1
Cubbie fans said the same thing after the Soriano signing, knowing it probably wasn’t the best long-term, but the shot at the title was worth it. I personally have no problem with owners realizing they have a window to contend and taking their opportunity while it’s there to be had. As much as people can hate these contracts, it’s part of the cost of winning. Not every team can compete year after year.
lol, did you just compare Fielder to Soriano? Fail.
At least Fielder’s contract will be up when he’s 36. The Cubs are stuck paying Soriano (or at least most of his salary) until he’s 38. It’s especially better than paying a guy $30M at age 41.
At least Fielder’s contract will be up when he’s 36. The Cubs are stuck paying Soriano (or at least most of his salary) until he’s 38. It’s especially better than paying a guy $30M at age 41.
Besides, the Cubs weren’t that great even when they signed Soriano.
My reaction to the Prince Fielder signing…I went food shopping.
It’ll be something you remember for the rest of your life, like where you were on September 11th…
some knee jerking thoughts…
…ticket prices in Detroit are gonna skyrocket…..Detroit will lead the MLB in infield errors in 2012….The Tigers will increase their average runs/pergame/ to 6+ and, runs/pergame/given up to 6+ …go figure!…The Prince will now be making Mitt Romney type money. I hope he pays his fair share in taxes..
Ahhh politics…..
Mike Ilitch might have lost his mind and Scott Boras helped him to do so, but Mike is paying for this himself and he will not raise ticket prices!
The people that surround Mike need to take a little bit more care in allowing those who are allowed to get through to Ilitch and those who don’t.
They already raised ticket prices this year. Can they raise prices again?
Here’s what i’m thinking. In 2013 we got Cabrera, Martinez and Fielder. Which means Miggy has to play third. In that case we either have to keep Constanellos down in the minors or we could deal him. So why not deal him, Turner and maybe someone else this year for Garza to fill that fifth spot in the rotation. With Cabrera and Fielder and a rotation that includes Verlander, Fister and Garza the pennant is as good as ours
I would take that deal in a heartbeat. I suspect the Theo Trio would too.
A nine year contract for that much money had to go to an Amarican League team. I think Fielder will be great for the Tigers and Im just glad Washington was in the mix, still showing they have money to spend. Now use the money on the young players we have like Zimmerman, Espinosa, Strasburg, Harper, Ramos, Zimmermann and the rest of the young core in the future. Congrats to the Tigers, you guys will be fun to watch.
victor gets injured, mystery team enters PF sweepstakes, and boras gets his man’s worth and more…
“The Mariners, meanwhile, told teams they didn’t have money to spend on a hitter of Prince’s caliber…”
But apparently we have money to spend on crappy, over-the-hill pitchers like Oliver Perez and Kevin Milwood.
Are you comparing the minor league contracts of Kevin Millwood and Oliver Perez to the $214 million contract of Prince Fielder?
If the Tigers get just one World Series out of this, I will be happy regardless of how ugly this deal looks by years 5-6.
I’m not so worried about the defense as others. Strong up the middle right? Well Cabby at 3b will be an adventure so infield corners are weak. But the SS/2b tandem of Peralta and Santiago is pretty solid and sure-handed, if limited in range. Avila’s a great young catcher, and Ajax is a future lock for Gold Gloves in CF. That’s a strong middle. Boesch can handle RF in CoPa and will be a nice upgrade from Maggs of years past, and Cabby at 3b frees up Delmon to DH… allowing room for a nice defensive upgrade in LF (Pierre? Cespedes? Kelly?). So really 3b will be the only glaring defensive weakness in this revamped setup, and the depth it gives the lineup is more than enough to offset how much that’s going to hurt.
You just hit the nail on the head
I was wondering if they just throw Cabrera right at 3b and then go sign a LFer like Pierre or Damon. Another thought I had, was mortgage the farm for a legit second basemen(all in, right?) move raburn to right, boesch to left and allow delmon to DH until vmart comes back. There are still options and opening day payroll is right at 120 mil with VMarts insurance(if my math is right). I don’t think Detroit is totally done with their offseason yet because there is still wiggle room
I hope they don’t walk on eggshells from here out. Go bold because soft stepping at this point can only hurt.
IMO MCab should not play 3b unless he has too. 3b is an extremely demanding position and he’s years removed from it. The last thing they need is for him to get injured playing a position when he could be DH-ing. They should transition him slowly this season, a few games here and there, but mainly play him at DH this season. 2013 try him as the full-time 3b for half the season and see how he does. Hopefully VMart can prove himself healthy in the first half of 2013 and regain trade value. If MCab can’t handle 3b full-time defensively in half a season of 2013, they can hopefully trade VMart for a significant piece or two by then (unless they resign both Young and Peralta after 2012, 2b, SS, and LF should be open spots for upgrades). Then they can bring up Nick Castellanos to finish the season at 3b. If MCab surprises and can manage the hot corner well, obviously then they can hold on to VMart for the remainder of the contract.
A lot of this is riding on whether or not VMart comes back healthy, which is actually a significant question. A torn ACL at age 33 is very difficult to come back from. With all the wear-and-tear he absorbed as a catcher all those years, I am worried he may struggle to stay healthy in those last two seasons. If he can’t stay healthy in 2013, there’s nothing wrong with continuing to play MCab and Fielder at 1b/DH and waiting for Castellanos to take 3b long-term. If VMart CAN show a full-recovery in the first half of 2013, he should have solid trade value again for any team looking for a 1b/DH for 2013 and 2014. They could land a piece they really need for him (leadoff-hitter, 2b come to mind). The Tigers could then bring up Castellanos to play 3b midseason. With Castellanos up, in 2013 you basically have the same team as this 2012, but instead of Inge/Kelly at 3b, you have Castellanos and Peralta/Young are the only two starters who might not return after next season.
Ideally I’d like them to keep MCab and Prince at DH and 1b for the majority of their career. You can’t risk high priced All-Star offense at demanding positions like 3b in my opinion.
Mystery
Brandon Inge can be a liable first baseman or DH for the Mariners by packaging him to Seattle for young pitchers James Paxton, Shawn Kelley, and infielder Chone Figgins (then send Figgins to San Diego Padres for Will Venable). This trade will help all three teams on the needs of offense (Cabrera and Venable), defense (Figgins), and pitching. Shawn Kelley can help out in the bullpen for a while in the Tigers uniform since he’s still young.
Why trade Castellanos when he will be ready EXACTLY when VMart’s contract runs out and Cabby goes to DH? PLus they need young cost controlled guys if they have $65mm tied up in 3 guys. And you don’t trade 6 years of Turner and 6 Yeras of Castellanos, your top 2 prospects , for 2 years and $120m more in Garza, who is a 2/3 starter in the AL…they already have 2 guyslike that in Scherzer and Fister….
Smyly and a A ball arm or hitter for Daniel Murphy is the magic move…get your 2b filled for 4 years and get a good OB% on in front of the 3-4-5-6 of MC prince VMart and Avila…
The long term payroll is fine, they will retain their 3 studs, a 2nd starter and the core non studs of Avila Jackson and Boesch long term for the same salary range of the past 3 years of $115-$133m…with more revenue….they just have to get 2 starters, a closer, Castellanos and either a SS or 2b out of the minors in the next 4 years….
Yeah, I’ll give Cabrera and Fielder the title of best 3-4 tandem, but if Berkman has another healthy year, he and Holliday aren’t far behind for my Cardinals (assuming Beltran bats either 2nd or 5th).